Notes From The Egyptian
Desert
Adventure In The Desert ~ by David Lavoie
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| December 2004
About two hours out of Cairo on the
road to Bahariya Oasis, we turn east into the desert. At first it’s what
is called “black desert”. Billions of tiny pebbles and ancient shells have
worked their way to the surface and cover the sand in a dark blanket. This
is treacherous to drive on and our two Bedouin guides, Mohamed and Salah,
prefer sand runs which are solider and more dependable. It’s a fast exciting
bumpy ride until we come to the edge of the escarpment. The first level
of the valley floor is about 100 meters below us; the drivers skirt the
edge of the drop coming heart-stopping close to the edge at times, and
driving over slopes that tilt the Toyota Land-Cruisers at scary angles
toward the drop. They are looking for a place where there is a sand slope
which comes right to the top of the escarpment. When we find one, over
the edge we go and with wheels locked slid screaming and whooping to the
valley floor. Talk about an adrenalin rush. Miriam and I are in the car
with Mohamed who is the chief guide and I am in the front seat. Behind
me Catherine and Miriam squeal and Hendrick keeps repeating “Oh My God!
over and over. In the front seat Mohamed and I are howling with glee like
maniacs. |
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Finally we are on the valley floor
and follow the trail to the first of thirty or so exposed fossils of prehistoric
whales that lie scattered about. This was all once part of the ocean and
you can still find sea shells, sharks’ teeth and of course these magnificent
ancient whale fossils. There are about twenty and there are probably hundreds
more beneath the sand. The drivers prepare a typical desert lunch of tomato,
cucumber, tinned tuna, cream cheese and pita. This is always the lunch
as it is all they have which transports and keeps easily. By this time
it is about three o’clock so we head into the real sand desert with its
magnificent dunes. This is the extreme eastern edge of the Great Sand Sea,
the Libyan Desert and the Sahara. The dunes are beautiful. We race along
the tops of some turning suddenly to plunge down steep slopes screaming
all the way. It’s so much fun. The trick is to keep moving and, of course,
to know the desert, know the sand and how it works. We climb high up one
slope of a Butte for a magnificent view and five kilometers way we see
two other vehicles one on each side of a dune. One driver tries to cross
the dune and gets hung up on the summit his rear wheels spinning in empty
air. We watch them work at it for 30 minutes or so before the vehicle is
freed and slides down the other side. These are the only other people we
see and they are far off.
The wind is picking up so we head
for a nearby Butte to pitch camp. The drivers do this by finding a huge
rock and angling the two vehicles at 90 degrees to one another against
it so you have an enclosure open on only one side. We stay out of the way
and simply enjoy a nice drink of scotch while we wait. Large colorful cloth
windbreaks are put up and rugs and mats spread on the sand. It’s very cozy.
At the open end a fire is built with wood they have brought on the tops
of the vehicles and a field kitchen goes into operation to produce sweet
mint tea and then a dinner of grilled chicken, rice, and chopped tomatoes
and cucumber followed by date-filled cookies and sweet dates for dessert.
It gets dark quickly in the desert and the stars are magnificent. We are
in a very beautiful area and it is so peaceful to sit around the dying
fire and listen to the wind, a far-off owl and the faint yapping of a desert
fox. I have prepared a little hollow for myself away from the others and
by 9.30 I am happily in my sleeping bag with a knit cap on my head because
it gets REALLY cold in the desert, and I drift off to sleep for eight and
a half hours!! I rarely sleep that long but it’s so peaceful sleeping under
the star-filled desert sky.
The following is the first article
David wrote for the magazine:
 Beautiful
Sipadan ~ In
Malaysia
To contact David Click
Here
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